


Casino and the Likely Dame

by DixieDale



Category: Clan O'Donnell - Fandom, Garrison's Gorillas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-15 17:13:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19300168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixieDale/pseuds/DixieDale
Summary: When Casino meets a classy dame who offers him everything he ever figured he wanted in a woman - even better, things he'd never even realized he wanted - he just can't believe his luck.  And she obviously thinks he's the cat's pajamas.  What the hell could go wrong?  Well . . .





	Casino and the Likely Dame

He'd met her on leave in London, while they were staying at one of the upscale places Actor favored. Just a casual meeting in the hotel bar, but one that quickly turned into something more than a chance encounter. Of course, he was pretty sure she'd never have given him a glance in any of the places he usually hung out. Hell, a classy dame like Sandra Delray would most likely never have BEEN in one of the places he usually hung out in. But he wasn't one to step aside from a gift like this.

He hadn't told the guys all that much about her, tried to keep it real offhand. For some reason, he just didn't feel right about giving out all the juicy details about this woman, though that had never really bothered him in the past. 

Hell, they all shared a lot of shit, him and the guys, though with Goniff it was more in the line of sly glances and cat-who-ate-the-canary grins and those waggling eyebrows that told more than a thousand words, at least now that the pickpocket was pretty much exclusive with the redhead down at the Cottage (except for a few all-in-the-line-of-duty encounters, or so he claimed). 

Even Actor joined in, though his stories, of course, were couched in a lot of highfalutin words and phrases, though it pretty much came down to the same as what the rest of them put out there - who, where, how and just how good, hot, wet, intense, satisfying it all had been. 

Funny, in all their stories, none of them ever blew a line, dropped the ball, had it all blow up in their faces. Nope, never happened. Yeah, funny how that worked out.

No, with Sandra, telling the guys much of anything, that just didn't feel right. Maybe that was because he could almost see it, you know. Him and her, together, for more than just what was going on now. 

Oh, he wasn't looking to give up what he had with the team; that wasn't going to happen. They were his friends, his brothers, and besides that, they had a job to do. And he hadn't gotten around to telling her much of his past, about his family, about spending time in the joint, about his now working toward that parole, and all that could easily queer the deal, especially with a classy dame like Sandra. Still, he could almost see himself with her, this living embodiment of so many of his fantasies.

Of course, his fantasies ran an extremely wide gamut, his tastes being what they were. Put him in a specialty shop, one with all those entrancing magazines divided into 'special interests', he'd gladly pick one from every category and enjoy every one of them, though to perhaps differing degrees depending on his mood. Well, except for that last section, the ones with kids - that whole idea made him want to gag. Never COULD see that, even discounting . . . Well, just never could, ya know?

Still, where women were concerned, he did tend to focus in on a certain physical type - lots of blonde hair, long legs, really, really built! He'd always liked a woman you could touch without worrying about her breaking, someone with enough flesh you could hang on tight, fill your arms real good.

But this time, though she certainly met all those requirements, there was more. She had a nice voice, one he wouldn't mind hearing in the middle of the night, or in the daytime either, for that matter. A nice laugh, and enough of a sense of humor that she used it often enough. 

Not so much as to make it seem she was an airhead, though. Cause she wasn't. Oh, she wasn't given to high-blown discussions like Actor, but you didn't have to explain things to her like he had some of the women in his past. Hell, some of the women he'd bedded, even explaining things wouldn't have helped. They'd simply not had the interest or the capacity for understanding anything beyond being complimented or gossiping or any of the things THEY were involved in. Anyway, he wasn't given to anything particularly high-blown either; just, he didn't want to have to dumb down his side of a conversation every damned time. Hell, since when was he all that interested in conversation anyway, especially with a dame?? This just might be a first, at least with a looker like her!

Maybe he'd just been around intelligent women for too long, what with working with Lynn and Meghada and her sisters; hell, even the Duchess! Then there was Alice Miller and Sheila Riley, even Mrs. Wilson, who was sure no dummy! And his mom and sisters were smart women too. So maybe he was outgrowing his earlier easy acceptance of 'dumb' being alright as long as the physical package satisfied him.

And he had to admit, with this one, the physical package had looked like it was going to satisfy him just fine, right from the start. Sheesh, even sharing that first drink, he could just imagine being buried inside her, those long legs wrapped around him. 

And he'd been right. That first night between them had been something else. She'd shed the faint shyness once the bedroom door had closed behind them, though never her ladylike air. Her touch had been heated, but not brazen. Her words, exciting without being coarse. And her body? She'd felt like silk under his fingers, round and firm in all the right spots, filling his hands to overflowing. And she'd been so hot and wet when he entered her, moved with him so passionately, he thought he might just end up with scorch marks by the time it was all over. 

Her suggestion that they meet again was met with his eager agreement. Hell, pass up another round like they'd just had? He was no dummy either!

It hadn't been easy, though, what with having to get back to the Mansion when his leave was over, then being gone over the Channel. And the jobs kept coming, the training shit the Warden and Sergeant Major kept coming up with. Him and Sandra, they only had a night here and there, and that was really pushing things with the Warden. Just a few meetings over several weeks, and all seemed great.

Til little things started catching his attention, making him blink.

She'd just laughed gently when those grubby little kids had bumped into them while she and Casino passed by where the youngsters were playing their games in the park, her smile sweetly indulgent. But there had been a flash of sheer venom in her blue eyes, so quick and then gone - fast enough he thought surely he'd been mistaken. But the cords in her neck were taut, and it looked like she had to really work hard to relax her hand from the tight fist she'd made on her purse, like she was about to belt one of the little crumb crunchers for dirtying her skirts. Casino had just scooped up their ball and tossed it back onto the grassy area, and told them, "there you go, guys. Try to stay off the walk, okay?" and she'd smiled, told him he was so good with children. But there was just something about the tension in her jaw line.

He'd approached the subject of his family, his past, slowly and carefully, and she'd seemed quietly apprehensive, though open to his explanation. 

Well, her tentative questions had all seemed pretty much what you'd expect after hearing the guy you were having an affair with was connected to the mob. Yeah, he now thought of it as an affair, not just them sleeping together. 

He'd been quick to reassure her that he wasn't a wise guy or anything like that, just that he'd grown up in the business. Not like he intended to STAY in the business, not once he got his parole. Assured her there were lots of other things he could do, easy. And she'd seemed relieved at that, and gently approving. 

Why had he gotten the notion he wasn't telling her anything she didn't already know, though? That was just crazy. A woman like her wouldn't be likely to know anything about the mobs; sure wouldn't have figured out he was connected.

One night she'd still been in the bedroom getting ready when he got there, and he'd spent his time casually looking around, figuring he'd get to know her a little better by seeing the things she liked to have around her, the way she put things together. Maybe what she read, whether she did crossword puzzles, what music she listened to when he wasn't around, what she liked to snack on when she had a cup of tea or coffee. That sort of stuff, the personal shit they'd never gotten around to discussing, them having so many other ways to be spending their time.

He didn't expect to have any difficulty learning all kinds of stuff about sweet Sandra. After all, he knew you could sure tell a hell of a lot about Meghada from HER place, between the big vegetable garden and fruit trees, the stocked pantry and the obviously well-used kitchen, the crammed library shelves and even more books stacked here and there - every subject under the sun, most likely, and in half a dozen languages - the musical instruments and piles of sheet music, the lined music pads where she wrote her own stuff, and the comfortable if not fancy furniture. Not everything, no; her place didn't give away all her secrets. That dame was a complicated one, even without her working for Richards, but you could still tell a lot.

Sandra's place was immaculate, as always, no clutter, no dust, nothing out of place, but for the first time he noticed how, well, neutral, impersonal everything was. The maybe half-dozen books were all what Meghada called 'coffee table books' - "more to impress than to enjoy", the redhead had always said. The pictures on the wall were what you'd find in Hotel Marchant, pretty, unoffensive, nice frames, but nothing that spoke to an individual taste. Maybe ten or twelve records next to the phonograph, but just background stuff, stuff they'd listened to sometimes, nothing special, nothing unexpected. There were no family pictures, and coming from a home where almost every flat surface had pictures, that just didn't seem quite right. Still, not every family was like his, he knew that. 

The kitchen seemed really off. Oh, there was a coffee pot on the stove, a tea pot on the counter, but the small fridge was empty. No, really, empty, totally; he didn't know why she even had it turned on. The pantry had a package of salt crackers and a bottle of whiskey, a small packet of coffee, another of tea, and the package of tea had dust on it. Somehow, that just didn't seem to be right, even if she was a light eater, which he hadn't noticed her being. Course, anytime they'd had drinks or coffee here, she'd always laughingly refused his help, had gotten things together herself, so he'd never come any closer than the doorway before.

The bathroom was sparkling clean and fairly lush, just as he remembered it, with nice towels, appropriate toiletries, but where she was storing the makeup and perfume she was wearing, he couldn't tell. It sure wasn't in the medicine cabinet.

He was getting an itch to take a look inside her closet, to see how many clothes she had there, but then gave himself a good shake. Hell, she'd told him she spent quite a bit of time at her folks' house; kept this place mostly cause it was close to her work, and for any entertaining she might want to do. Maybe she didn't see the need for keeping a lot of stuff here. Naw, none of that meant anything!

She came bustling out of the bedroom about then, all smiles and apologies, and between that welcoming kiss and the laughter as they discussed the place they were going for a little dancing, he put all the rest out of his mind.

It had been a good night on the town, and what went on in the darkened bedroom after they got back had been even better. She was willing to go with some of the more interesting stuff he hadn't been sure a lady like her would be okay with, and damn, but she was a fast learner! In fact, if he didn't know better, he'd have sworn . . . 

But no, she'd shyly confessed that she'd NEVER done anything like that before, wouldn't even consider it with anyone but him. Boy, that had made him smile from ear to ear! Nothing like learning you were the first with something!

In the morning, the knock on the door had startled them both, and needless to say, it had been a shock when it turned out to be the Indian come looking for him. Casino could tell Sandra wasn't any too pleased, though whether at the interruption or him having given someone her address and told someone that'd he'd likely be there, he didn't know. 

Well, what the heck had he been supposed to do? That was the agreement, this time out. They all knew they could be pulled in for that mission at a moment's notice, and the only way Garrison would agree to them having some free time was their solemn promise that he COULD find them if he needed them!

Besides, he was secretly glad someone HAD come along; he really wanted to show off the classy dame he'd met. Whether he had wanted it to be Chief, now that was something he wasn't sure of. He was feeling a little funny about that. Of course, if it had been Actor, not that Actor was much given to running that kind of errand, even for Garrison, the Italian probably wouldn't have been all that impressed, him and his fancy silk and satin dames. Goniff, he'd have been impressed, for sure. Well, probably, anyway.

The Lieutenant? Hell, who knows??! The man didn't even seem to really see a dame half the time, not less it was business. Oh, he was always nice and polite, friendly, but nothing more personal. Casino had heard the man laugh once and say he'd packed his libido away for the duration, and from what the safecracker had seen, that seemed to be the truth. Didn't seem to do any looking at all, not even something farther afield. 

{"Hell, bet I could put my whole library across his bed, let him look through them all, and tell him next time we're in London we'll finding something like what he found in there that took his fancy, and STILL wouldn't do any good! Would probably just have him shuffling them all right back into a stack and setting them back out in the hallway right away, not even looking! And there's some real good stuff in there, not just the basic shit, and not just dames neither! That's just not normal, ya know, not even looking, not even being curious!!"}. 

He'd mentioned doing all that once, and Goniff had shook his head at him firmly, told him "best leave the Lieutenant alone, Casino. All that shit you got under your cot, most likely just confuse the ruddy 'ell outta 'im, and 'e's got enough on 'is mind. Sides, 'e'll figure things out, maybe, in 'is own time, in 'is own way. Which, I gotta say, is something I aint too sure YOU'RE ever gonna do!" 

When Casino had persisted, ignoring that whole mishmash since none of that made much sense to HIM, like much of what the Cockney came up with, the pickpocket had gotten real pissy about it even, for some reason.

Anyhow, with Chief at the door, and Sandra standing there in her robe, the introduction had been quick, and although polite on both sides, there were uncomfortable undercurrents even a fool could pick up on. Casino didn't know what they meant, but they sure as hell were there. {"Deep enough to drown in, yer not careful!"} he thought uneasily.

They made a quick departure, then just as they got to the bottom of the stairs, Casino realized he'd left his watch on the bedside table. He had Chief wait while he dashed back up and just had the door cracked, his mouth open to tell her why he'd come back when he heard her voice. 

Obviously she was highly pissed, for her voice was high and tight, "and this is NOT going to work if I don't get some uninterrupted time to work on him! He keeps scurrying off to do this, to do that, is gone for days, even weeks or more at a time. It keeps getting off track every time the pressure is off."

(Pause, probably listening to the person on the other end of the phone)

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, the man who showed up a few minutes ago, this 'Chief', I don't like it one little bit. Supposedly he's a guy Casino works with. I think he just might have considerable influence there; there was just something in the vibrations between the two of them. One thing for sure, he sees too much, and he doesn't trust me or like me, not one little bit, that was easy enough to see, even if he was just here for a few minutes."

(Pause)

"Yes, I know, but it's not like we have a lot of time to pull off this deal! Uncle Joey says I've got to have him firmly on our side, ready to step in with his family back in the States once we start making our move. If they decide against us, team up with the Delvechio mob instead of coming down on our side, we won't have a chance of taking that territory! Casino speaking up for us will make all the difference!"

(Pause)

"Well, it'd better! I'll tell you this, if I've put up with all this, tracking him down, picking him up in that hotel bar, spending time in this ratty little dump, putting on this sweet little butter-won't-melt act for nothing, I am NOT going to be happy!"

(Pause)

"Sure, he's damned good in the sack, every bit as good as he looks, but give me a break! You know how hard it's been to let the big lug think he's 'teaching' me all this shit??!! Oh, he's got some good moves, but nothing I've not seen before, let me tell you! In fact, I've been tempted to show him a few of my own moves, just to watch his jaw drop! No, no, of course not. I'll stick with the plan, but it's getting old, you know? Did everything but put on a nun's habit for him! I haven't acted that innocent since I turned seventeen and was trying to pull that Cramden fellow into the trap!"

Casino gently eased the door shut and backed away, made his way down the stairs silently. 

"You get your watch?" Chief asked, wondering at the very odd look on Casino's face.

"Naw. I'll pick up a new one at a pop shop along the line somewhere. Come on, let's get the hell out of here!" Casino replied, and after a measuring glance at him, then back up the stairs, Chief just nodded and they left. 

Left, and Casino never even glanced back. No need; no way in hell was he ever coming back here again. It was gonna be hard enough to explain to the guys as it was. He could just HEAR their comments if he came back for another round now that he knew he'd been set up!! Sure as hell Goniff would never put up with Casino calling him a 'dumb Limey' again, that's for sure! And, to tell the truth, Casino couldn't blame him.

It took some convincing, but a wary Garrison had somehow arranged a secure telephone for that 'urgent call I gotta make to my folks, Warden. Yeah, a real emergency.'.

It brought tears to his eyes to hear her voice when his mom answered the phone, and he took a few precious minutes just talking to her. But then he forced himself back to the reason he'd called.

"Yeah, mom. I know, me too. But let me talk to dad, will ya? It's business." 

A pause. "You don't get involved in the business, Casino, we both know that." 

"Yeah, but this is different; there's trouble. Come on, mom." 

He waited while his mother called up the stairs, waited til a familiar voice came on the line.

"Casino? What's this, son? You've got trouble? Family trouble?" 

Casino's father was a family man, in more than one way, and Casino knew he could always count on him for whatever he needed. Including a slap upside the head if it was thought necessary. Of course, he could count on his mom for that too, them both telling him on more than one occasion that with someone as stubborn and thick-headed as he was, sometimes that was the only way to make him stop and actually LISTEN! Well, yeah, so they were usually right.

"Yeah, dad. Maybe. But maybe you and the family got more. See, this is what happened . . ." 

He eased over the stuff his dad didn't have the need to know, and the stuff he would be embarrassed saying in front of his mom, since he was damned sure she was listening on the extension. Just the simple con job and the reason for it. 

"Not sure who she's with, yet. Never heard the name Delray before. But the Delvechio's, yeah, that was firm. You may have big trouble brewing over there. Figured you'd want a heads-up. I'm headed out, but I gotta friend who can maybe come up with the family name over here. Friend's name's O'Donnell - if she can find out anything, I'll have her get in touch, okay?"

There was a little more conversation, more in line with regular family stuff, a gruff "and you take care of yourself, you hear me, Casino? You and your friends, you do what you gotta do, but you get yourselves back safe. I'm counting on it!"

Casino gulped. "Yeah, dad, we'll do that. And you and mom and everyone. You do the same. You stay safe."

He hung up the phone just as Garrison stuck his head back in the door. 

"You ready? We're outta here."

"Yeah, Warden. I'm ready."

 

No, she wasn't the one; that was easy enough to see now. It had looked like she could be, in the beginning, but all that had changed. Well, she hadn't really changed, he'd just caught on to the fact that she wasn't what she was pretending to be. 

To think he'd almost been caught out by a con like that! Hell, you'd've thought him, of all people, could have seen through all that right from the beginning. Still, he'd received some comfort from what Meghada had told him, her offering a heavy shot of bourbon and a safe shoulder to pour out his troubles to.

"Casino, she's an expert. YOU know the drill. You find out what the mark wants, or at least thinks he wants. Once you have the right bait, then you figure out the right con. She and her family did a lot of research, observed carefully, and according to the Lads, her mother is known for being an expert in this field. They figured out what they thought you wanted, your ideal woman, and then they CREATED her, and then dangled her under your nose."

She slid a saucer with fresh iced cinnamon biscuits in front of him, just out of habit. "And there isn't just Sandra, you know. Her family, and I mean that in the broader sense, has several females, of various types, who are expert in this line - she is just the one who best met your requirements. The right lure - someone with the right physical attributes, with just the right degree of class and intelligence, though not so much as to be offputting to you. If they'd been targeting any of the others of the team, the lure would have been different."

"Yeah, but hell! How did they get so close? I never even looked for some of that stuff before, never figured it was all that important! And it all just clicked, ya know??!" 

That was more than frustrating, that someone trying to work a con on him could somehow figure out things he hadn't figured out for himself. Damn, it was insulting, that's what it was! Well, along with being damned embarrassing, of course, though he wasn't gonna tell Meghada that. Somehow he figured she already knew that anyway; after all, she wasn't a dummy either.

"As I said, Casino, they, especially the matriarch of the family, are quite expert, very intuitive. Though it had to be rather daunting, I'm sure, to see how close they got to springing the trap. I think your having to keep heading back to the Mansion, the guys, then out on the missions, that must have been very frustrating for them. A con like this really needs to be uninterrupted, otherwise the mark can lose his focus. And it's hard to start up at exactly the right spot, remember exactly the right tone to your actions, your expressions."

Somehow, there was just a little too much knowledge built in there, Casino thought. But he remembered she'd told them she'd worked with a couple of experts in the con game, and those were names Actor had recognized and had been real impressed by. Yeah, could be she'd worked this game before. 

Well, he'd suspected that, hadn't he, in the beginning? That she was pulling a con on their pickpocket, using him for her own amusement? Really pissed Casino off, thinking that was the case. Course, he'd been way wrong about that, but still, looks like she knew one hell of a lot about the game.

"The one good thing, Casino, is that this has made you think perhaps a little more deeply, about what you like and don't like; things you perhaps have never really focused on before. That a voice can be as important as a face, that you want someone you can talk to and are glad to listen to, that intelligence isn't optional. AND it will make you be a little more cautious in the future, I think. Knowing, accepting what you truly want in a life partner, what you are looking for, that makes it easier not to get sidetracked, makes it easier not to be detoured into settling for less."

He stared glumly at his glass. "So what do YOU think I ought to be lookin for?"

Meghada shook her head reprovingly, her voice chiding him. "Casino, you know better than that! Your own heart is your best guide, as long as you remember to read it carefully, and not let it be deceived. Not let you deceive yourself. What is it you keep saying about Goniff and me? "Sheesh, just what IS it with those two??!" About how it's like watching a crocodile and a canary cuddling? You obviously would not have chosen us for each other, yet, here we are. I think, somehow, you KNOW, or maybe will know, who and what you want. I also believe you may have to fight a battle with yourself before accepting what will be laid before you. You may not be as stubborn as Garrison, but that IS setting an awfully high bar, you know!"

Shit, sometimes he finished a long, heartfelt talk with Meghada even more confused than when he sat down! 

But now he knew better what he wanted in a life-long partner. IF the right one came along. IF she could accept he wasn't gonna give up what he already had. IF she wanted to be a part of the picture - of what Meghada called the tapestry, and Actor argued was more of a mosaic. Yeah, he still didn't see too much difference, still just a damned picture, just whether you were talking cloth or stone, and never could figure out how they could actually discuss the subject for a full hour and still not come to a conclusion they could agree on. Sometimes they just both thought too damned much in his opinion. Like the Warden did.

Well, anyway. If he found someone who was what Sandra had appeared to be, but this time really WAS, it would be worth introducing her to the others, seeing how all the parts stacked up together. Cause, no matter how right she seemed, hell, even how right she WAS, there were some things, some people he wasn't gonna walk away from. 

And a picture formed in his mind, and he gave a rueful, self-mocking smile, knowing deep down who, what he really wanted, but knowing his chances were less than zero. {"Yeah, get a knife across my gullet more than likely, I even drop a hint in that direction. Not gonna screw up the works, not now."}

And he drained his glass, said his thanks to the redhead with the way-too-knowing amber eyes, and made his way back to the Mansion. They were probably headed back out in the next day or two, and he had to get his shit together before then, get his mind back on the job.

 

Epilogue:

Garrison had heard about it, of course. That was the deal. He might not enjoy hearing about the trouble they got into; hell, how could he??! But still, for the good of everyone, he needed to, and after that mess with Goniff, they'd agreed, all of them, to keep him in the loop, and at the beginning, not just when it all hit the fan. And they'd followed through, at least he thought they had, for the most part. God knows there was plenty they DID tell him now; it was scary to think that there was more they WEREN'T telling him!

But there hadn't been any followup about Sandra Delray, and that had him a little worried too. So, after enough time had gone by, and since Casino wasn't looking in the least nervous anymore, Garrison just asked.

"Naw, don't think there'll be any trouble there, Warden. My family decided the Delardo's - that's the family Sandra was with - had a pretty good handle on the situation. Hell, they've been a little worried about the Delvechio bunch for some time; my old man says they're not strong enough to hold their territory anymore but too damned stubborn to make an alliance with anyone else to get the job done. Just bound and determined to ride the ship down to the bottom, lock, stock and barrel. Thing is, it would get pretty damned bloody for any one in the vicinity, so no one was all that happy with them being so set in their ways. My family figured the Delardo's would do a better job, even with the way they tried to get me involved to put in a good word for them." He took a swig of coffee.

"It was a pretty smart move, actually, cept it wasn't necessary, ya know? Dad says our grandpop knew old man Delardo in the old days; there's some history there, some debts owed. Course, bottom line, it just made good business sense. Though figured maybe our family outta reach out to their family, let em know I'm not the best one to be trying to rope into anything, me having other shit to deal with right now, and not really being in the business anyhow. A couple a phone calls, it all got smoothed over. Won't be any trouble on this end."

Garrison looked at him, confused. "Then your family didn't have any objections to these Delardos trying to run a con on you to get your family on their side in this, what, turf war?"

"Naw, just business. And it wasn't a war, Warden, just a nice easy takeover. Not even too many bodies, and none left laying around in the streets to get regular folks upset. Even shipped the Delvechio noncombatants out to California to new territory, someplace they have friends to kinda keep an eye on them. Woulda shipped them back to Sicily, but with the war and all, well, you know. And, hey, business is business - family is family - and sometimes they meet in the damnest places." 

The safecracker had said all that with a perfectly serious face, and the scary thing to Garrison was the calm, knowing nods he was getting from the other cons.

"So Sandra . . ." Garrison just had to ask.

Casino shrugged. "Looks like Sandra and my second cousin, three times removed, Mikey, just might make a match of it. Kinda bind the families together, ya know? Sides, Mikey's got more twists to him than a three headed snake; figure the two a them would do pretty good together. Hell, those two? Probably them or their kids'll take over both families one a these days. It'd make for a big territory, though. Still, with the combined resources, should be able to make it work."

He reached for the coffee pot, and the subject turned to the more immediate issue of the obstacle course and the near-impossible addition Sergeant Major Rawlins had insisted on adding after the rope swing. 

Garrison sat there a long time after they'd left, being badgered by the Sergeant Major to "get yer lazy arses in gear!" 

Some days he was convinced - the more he learned about how the world worked, the more confused he became.


End file.
